Which layout for a control room?

I started my build after reading for a many years about, how to build a studio. I've put up a couple walls and left 3' in back of the control room designated for bass trap. I was planning on filling this void with cellulose fiber from floor to ceiling after putting a double layer of sheet rock over the two windows that reside there. My total build budget is keep it under $10.000. I'm doing all the work with the help of a friend. I plan on using the space to record whatever walks through the door, so drums, guitar amps, etc. will be the norm. 110 db is not out of the question. The house is remote so I don't have to worry about neighbors as much as trying not to drive my wife crazy. The room measures 40 x 26 and has a sloped ceiling that starts at 9' where the air conditioning soffit is and goes to 15' on the high end. The house is built on a very thick (3') concrete slab and sheet-rocked walls. There are two large wooden beams about 13' feet in from the side walls that run the full 26' width of the room. I had originally planned on hiding these beams with double walls 12" apart, using them with DC04 clips to stabilize the walls. I've included pics of the walls as well as a 'plan B' drawing in case it would be better to build the nonparallel walled control booth measuring 13 ft deep by 20 feet wide. I'm open to suggestion, but I have these beams to deal with. they are not structural, but they are very solid. The house is a 'U' shape and this room comprises the right side of the 'U'. on the other side of the wall that joins the house is a bathroom and laundry room. The floor is concrete and has a trough where the electrical runs down the almost center of the room. All of the outlets are on separate breakers. There is a voice over booth on the other side of the house that is connected by a conduit running under the slab of the house, and also a green-screen/soundstage in a building 300' away that is also connected to the main house via two 2" conduits. So my question is, do I build a 16 x 23 control room between these two beams with my iso booths on the sides and let the control room be a barrier to keep the drums as far away from the living area as possible? Or do I build according to 'plan B'? If I do put the control room in the center of the beams, do I still leave 3' for bass trap? I planned on going all the way to the ceiling with it, putting some diffusion on the face of it so the whole surface isn't just absorption.

Hi there "the buffy'lo", and welcome! You are in one of those complex situations where there are no easy answers, unfortunately, since there are big advantages and disadvantages to all of your options. For example, it would be best to have the control facing the live room directly, so you can have windows in between and good sight lines. But that would be an acoustic nightmares, since the front part of your control room would be higher and wider than the rear! Exactly backwards from what you want. The control room should be lower and narrower at the front (over the speakers), with height and with increasing as you go backwards (or at least not decreasing). So that's your first challenge: Decide if you want good acoustics and mixes that translate well, or if you want good sight-lines and nice windows... Tough call... There's also the issue that you have some framing in place already, but it seems to be attached to the existing ceiling, so I guess you don't need much isolation between rooms? You say that you get up to 110 dB in the LR, but you don't say how quiet that has to be outside the studio, or in the other rooms. It would be good if you could put numbers on those as well, since the amount of isolation you need (in decibels) is a key factor in determining what type of construction methods and materials you need to use.

The house is remote so I don't have to worry about neighbors as much as trying not to drive my wife crazy.

OK, but what about noise coming the other way? Wind, rain, hail, thunder, aircraft, cars, phones, dogs, lawnmowers, water in pipes, HVAC, etc. There's a million different external noises, some of them very loud, that you might need to keep out of the studio, so they don't destroy "that perfect take".

I plan on using the space to record whatever walks through the door,

So this is going to be a commercial studio, with paying customers? Are you aware of the legal requirements that that imposes on you for people with disabilities, such as wheel-chair access, extra wide doors, grab rails in the bathrooms, etc.? If not, you should probably look into those before you advance too far.

have these beams to deal with. they are not structural, but they are very solid.

I'll bet they ARE structural! Not to hold the roof up, maybe, but they are probably tie-beams there to keep the walls vertical: There's a reason they are there, so I wouldn't touch them at all. It would be a very good idea to hire a structural engineer to take a look at your place, examine those beams (and everything else), and give you a signed report stating exactly what you can and cannot do, structurally.

The floor is concrete and has a trough where the electrical runs down the almost center of the room.

What is your plan for sealing that trough between the rooms? That's a major flanking path.

All of the outlets are on separate breakers.

Are all of the outlets wired with star grounding? If not, you will probably want to get that fixed. But seeing that none of the existing outlets will be usable once the studio is finished, and that you'll probably be re-doing the entire electrical system with one single penetration per room and surface-mount distribution within, there's not much point to doing anything much with the existing outlets, except maybe to remove them.

So my question is, do I build a 16 x 23 control room between these two beams with my iso booths on the sides and let the control room be a barrier to keep the drums as far away from the living area as possible? Or do I build according to 'plan B'?

You only show a rough sketch for "Plan B", but none for "Plan A", so it's hard to tell which would be better! :) Maybe you could post a similar rough sketch for "Plan A". Your "Plan B" sketch also shows only one single leaf, and it would be much better if you could show both leaves on there, so we can see if there might be any flanking issues with what you are planning. Personally, if that were my space, I think I'd try to put the iso booth, vocal booth, storage room, machine room, access passage, etc. on the side of the building with the low ceiling, and the live room on the side with the highest ceiling, then try to fit in the control room so it has a good view of both, but also has good symmetry and good acoustics. With that shaped space, it's not easy to see how that CR can fit in best!

do I still leave 3' for bass trap?

Bass traps are most effective in room corners, which is why we normally recommend either Superchunk traps or hangers for corners, then less thick absorption on the middle of the rear wall, maybe around 6" to 12", which gives you more space for a sofa at the back. What concept are you planning to use as the basic layout for your control room? (RFZ, LEDE, NER, CID, My Room, etc.) The basic concept often dictates many internal aspects of the room, including some of the treatment. That's a nice space you have there! I think it can work out well, if you design and build carefully. - Stuart -